The Fly by Katherine
Mansfield, English Major
The Fly by Katherine Mansfield
Summary
The story “Fly” throws light on the fact that time is a great
healer and it conquers grief.
Mr. Woodifield comes to see his ex-boss. He is retired and is a
heart patient. He praises the new setting and furniture of the office. Then the
boss offers him whisky. After drinking it, Mr. Woodifield remembers what he has
forgotten. He tells the boss that his daughters have visited the graves of the
boss’s as well as Mr. Woodsfield’s son. Actually, they have died in a war.
When Mr. Woodifield has gone, the boss remembers his dead son.
He tries to have the same feelings of grief as he felt on the day of his death.
However, he fails. For the last try, he decides to go to the photograph of his
son, but a fly in an inkpot attracts his attention. He forgets all about his
son.
He takes the fly out of the inkpot and puts it on a blotting
paper. As soon as the fly is about to fly, he drops a drop of ink on it and
enjoys its struggle. At last, the fly dies of drops of ink. The boss throws it
away and orders for a fresh blotting paper. Then he tries to remember what he
was thinking before attending to the fly. It means he forgets his dead son
again.
1.
What is the theme of the story
“Fly”?
This is a quite established fact that the story “The Fly” is
about the conquest of time over grief.
No doubt, this is quite established fact that the story “The
Fly” is about the conquest of time over grief. This is the first theme of the
story.
To show that time conquers grief the writer presents two
characters, Mr. Woodifield and his ex-boss. Both of them lost their only sons
six years ago. It was a long period and it had healed up their grief.
First, the writer tells us about the state of grief of Mr.
Woodifield. He has forgotten everything. He is able to remember about the grave
of his some after drinking whisky. He talks about his son and his grave, but
does not feel any pang of grief. This clearly shows that the time has made him
forget his grief.
Then the writer talks about the state of grief of the boss. The
Boss believed that time would not make any difference to his grief. Now his
present state of grief is different. After the departure of old Woodifield, he
sits in the chair. He wants to feel the same pang of grief that he used to
feel. The writer expresses his feelings very beautifully: “He wanted, he
intended, he arranged to weep…. But no tears came yet.” This is the present
condition of his grief. Time has conquered his grief.
He wants to feel the pang of grief. As a last try, he decides to
get up and have a look at his son’s photograph. However, a fly in the inkpot
attracts his attention and he forgets about his son and the grief in a moment.
He starts dropping drops of ink on the fly to enjoy its struggle. After the
death of the fly, he tries to remember what he was thinking, but cannot. This
clearly shows that time has conquered his grief. (303)
2.
What is the second theme of the
story “Fly”?
Discuss the writer’s views about
life, death, and fate as given in her story “The Fly”.
“As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; they kill us for
their sport.” Discuss.
What does the Boss do to the fly at the end of the story and what does the death of the fly signify to him?
What does the Boss do to the fly at the end of the story and what does the death of the fly signify to him?
The second theme of the story “The Fly” is “As flies to wanton
boys are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport.”
When we read the story carefully, we find that the fly in the
story symbolizes helplessness of man before fate. Just like the fly, man tries
hard and gets out of the grip of death for the time being, but fate captures
him again. Man has no power to defy fate and fall an easy prey to it. When we
read the story, we find that the writer and all the characters in the story
stand for the fly.
To convey this idea, the writer tells a brief incident. A fly
falls into an inkpot. The Boss sees it, puts it on a blotting paper, and enjoys
its strength again. At last, the fly dies of those drops of ink.
This incident of the fly highly symbolic. The writer herself
died of T.B that was incurable at that time. Many people were dying at that
time. Later, man discovered a cure for the disease and thought that he had
escaped death and had defied fate. However, just like the Boss, fate dropped
another drop – AIDS. Now many people are dying of it. Now it is the last drop.
Just like the fly, people cannot survive it. We hope that man will discover a
cure for it. However, who knows what the next drop is like.
Therefore, we are just like the fly in the story and the Boss is
just like a god who kills it just for his sport. This is the second theme of
the story. (275)
3.
What does the fly stand for?
Bring out the symbolism in the
short story “The Fly” by Katherine Mansfield.
The fly in the story “The Fly” symbolizes helplessness of man
before fate. Man may try hard to escape his death, but he is not given a chance
to escape. Just like the fly, man tries hard and gets out of the grip of death
for the time being, but fate again captures him. He has no power to defy fate
and fall an easy prey to it. When we read the story, we find that the writer
and all the characters in the story stand for the fly.
To convey this idea, the writer tells a brief incident. A fly
falls into an inkpot. The boss sees it, puts it on a blotting paper, and enjoys
its struggle. Just when the fly is able to escape death, drops a drop of ink
onto the fly and enjoys its struggle again. At last, the fly dies of those
drops of ink.
This incident of the fly is highly symbolic. The writer herself
died of T. B that was incurable at that time. Many people were dying at that
time. Later, man discovered a cure for the disease. He thought that he had
escaped death and had defied fate. However, just like the boss, fate dropped
another drop – the drop of AIDS. Now many people are dying of it. Now it is the
last drop. Just like the fly, people cannot survive it. We hope that man will
discover a cure for it. However, who knows what the next drop is like. (253)
4.
Describe the reaction of the Boss
when he comes to know that Mr. Woodifield’s daughters have visited the grave of
his son.
The reaction of the Boss is that of a father over the death of
his only son. However, he does not express his grief before Mr. Woodifield.
When Mr. Woodifield has gone, he sits in his chair. He asks Mr.
Macey that he will see nobody for half an hour. He wants to feel the same pang
of grief. The writer describes his condition, “He wanted, he intended, he had
arranged to weep…” It is a terrible shock to him when Mr. Woodifield mentions
the grave of his son. He imagines his son lying in his grave. He groans, “My
son!” However, no tears come yet.
In the past, in the first months and even years after the death
of his son he could not control his tears. He thought that the time would never
change the condition of his grief. He had developed his business for his son.
Everybody liked his son. However, he went to a war and died. When he received a
telegram about his death, he felt the whole place crashing about his head.
Now the situation is different. Six years have passed and he
does not feel the same pang of grief. As a last try, he decides to get up and
have a look at his son’s photograph. He thinks that by looking at the
photograph he will feel the same pang of grief as he used to feel. However, a
fly in the inkpot attracts his attention and he forgets about his son in a
moment. He starts enjoying the struggle of the fly by dropping drops of ink on
it. After the death of the fly, he tries to remember what it was he thinking before
attending to the fly, but cannot. (291)